President Donald Trump sparred with reporters from two ABC outlets on Tuesday before his trip to the United Kingdom, accusing one of having "hate in your heart" and the other of setting a "bad tone."
The exchange with ABC News and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation came in a press gaggle on the South Lawn of the White House.
First was the reporter from the Australian "Four Corners" program, who asked Trump if a president should be involved in so much "business activity."
"Well, I'm really not. My kids are running the business. I'm here," Trump responded before asking where the reporter was from. "In my opinion, you are hurting Australia very much right now. And they want to get along with me.
"You know, your leader [Anthony Albanese] is coming over to see me very soon. I'm going to tell them about you. You set a very bad tone," said Trump, who followed with "quiet" when the reporter persisted.
Then came ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl, who asked Trump what he thought of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announcing Monday that the Justice Department would target "anyone with hate speech" after the assassination of conservative leader Charlie Kirk.
"She should go after people like you, because you treat me so unfairly. It's hate," Trump said. "You have a lot of hate in your heart. Maybe they'll come after ABC."
Bondi clarified her comments on Tuesday, saying the DOJ will target "hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence," which is "not protected by the First Amendment."
"Well, ABC paid me $16 million recently for a form of hate speech, right? Your company paid me $16 million for a form of hate speech, so maybe they'll have to go after you," Trump told Karl, referring to the December settlement in Trump's defamation case against the network. It stemmed from anchor George Stephanopoulos' assertion in March 2024 that Trump had been "found liable for rape" in the civil case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, which was not true.
"Look, we want everything to be fair. It hasn't been fair. And the radical left has done tremendous damage to the country. But we're fixing it," Trump said.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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